Special Counsel Jack Smith Files Appeal in Classified Documents Case
Last week, prior to the assassination of Donald Trump, one of the bigger stories was the classified documents case being tossed by Judge Aileen Cannon.
Cannon leaned into Justice Thomas’ opinion during the presidential immunity case calling into question the legality of the appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel.
Smith has officially filed his appeal, as we knew he would, which will now go before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Honestly, this entire issue was thought to have been settled about two decades ago when it was litigated, with Title 28, Chapter VI, Part 600, § 600.1 clearly outlining the authority of the Attorney General to appoint a Special Counsel.
That precedent has been used many times over the years to appoint special counsels, including the appointment of John Durham by then-Attorney General William Barr and the special counsel who investigated Joe Biden and Hunter Biden’s cases.
If Smith loses this appeal, he will likely take it to the Supreme Court, where the issue will be settled once and for all.
And while I know Justice Thomas is raising questions, I am still not sure that the appointment was actually illegal, which is why I was so stunned when Cannon threw the case out leaning into Thomas’ opinion.
Now, there may be aspects of the appointment or the powers that were given to Smith that were considered overreach that could impact the legality of his appointment.
However, my understanding of this is that the ruling was based on the fact that Congress did not appoint the special counsel.
The media will use the fact that half the 11th Circuit was appointed by Trump, but that means nothing here.
Trump has lost cases before the 11th Circuit before when the appellate court rejected Cannon’s order for a “special master” to vet the Mar-a-Lago evidence confiscated during the FBI raid.
I honestly wish I had more to tell you on this, but everything in Cannon’s court has been a coinflip thus far.
But I can tell you this… if the appellate court rules the way I think it will rule, you can then expect an immediate motion by Smith to have Cannon removed from the case, as well as a push to have her record reviewed and removed from the bench altogether.
